I Think People Who Aim for a Perfect TOEIC Score Are a Little Crazy—A Comparison with Eiken Grade 1

Recently, I watched a YouTube video asking, “Which is more valuable: Eiken Grade 1 or a perfect TOEIC score of 990?”

In Japan, both qualifications are treated as proof that someone has mastered English. Globally, however, both Eiken and TOEIC are relatively minor exams.

TOEIC is offered in other countries, but it has an especially strong presence in Japan and South Korea. Eiken is almost entirely a domestic Japanese qualification.

TOEFL and IELTS are much more widely used for purposes such as studying at universities overseas.

In other words, the two qualifications that Japanese learners compare so earnestly are not particularly important in the rest of the world.

With that understood, if I still had to choose which one was more valuable, I would choose Eiken Grade 1, the highest level of Japan’s Eiken exam.

Or rather, I think there is something a little crazy about people who already have a TOEIC score above 900 and still aim for 990.

Even Native Speakers Do Not Always Get a Perfect Score

The TOEIC Listening and Reading test consists of 200 questions answered in about two hours. The maximum score is 990.

It is said that even native English speakers average around 950 when they take it.

Being a native speaker does not guarantee a perfect score. There are simply too many questions.

You might miss something in the listening section or misread a question. After concentrating for two hours, almost anyone could make at least one careless mistake.

Once you are above 900 and start aiming for a perfect score, test-taking technique begins to matter more than English ability itself.

Time management, reading questions in advance, handling misleading answer choices, and maintaining enough concentration to avoid mistakes.

A TOEIC score of 990 is certainly impressive.

But spending hundreds of hours moving from 900 to 990 feels less like studying English and more like mastering the game called TOEIC.

Do you want to improve your English, or do you want to fill in every bubble on an answer sheet perfectly?

To me, it looks as though the original goal has been replaced somewhere along the way.

In That Case, Eiken Grade 1 Is Better

Eiken Grade 1 includes writing and speaking sections.

You have to write your own opinion about a social issue in English, then give a speech in an interview and answer questions about it.

You cannot bluff your way through that with multiple-choice answers.

You have to think for yourself, put those thoughts into English, and communicate them to another person.

If the TOEIC Listening and Reading test measures your ability to understand English, Eiken Grade 1 also tests your ability to use English to express your ideas.

Its vocabulary and reading sections are also difficult.

If you are going to spend the same amount of time, I think challenging yourself with Eiken Grade 1 would broaden your learning more than chasing the last few dozen points on TOEIC.

That said, this is only a comparison between two qualification exams.

What Do You Want the Qualification For in the First Place?

A TOEIC score above 900 is more than enough to demonstrate strong English ability in Japan.

Once you reach that level, do you really need to raise the score any further?

If you need a particular score for a job or promotion, then get it. If you want to study abroad, take TOEFL or IELTS.

But if no one is asking you for a qualification, I do not understand the point of continuing to study for exams indefinitely.

English is supposed to be a tool for doing something.

Read international news. Read specialist books in English. Debate with people from other countries. Use it at work.

There is no shortage of things you can do.

And yet some people continue working through test-preparation books forever.

They began studying English so they could use it, but somewhere along the way, they started studying English so they could take TOEIC.

The means and the end have been completely reversed.

I Last Took TOEIC 15 Years Ago

In fact, the last time I took TOEIC was about 15 years ago.

My score was 885.

I have not taken it once since then.

The reason is simple: I no longer saw any point in taking it.

I continued studying English afterward. I still speak with foreign tutors through online English lessons, and I encounter far more English now than I did back then.

I can tell that my English is clearly better than it was 15 years ago.

I am confident that I could easily score above 900 if I took the test now.

But I have no desire to pay the exam fee and spend two hours filling in an answer sheet just to prove it.

You can tell whether your English has improved by actually using it.

You understand things you could not understand before. You can say things you could not express. You can read texts you could not read.

For me, that is enough.

My TOEIC score 15 years ago was 885. I believe my English is much better now.

There is, however, nothing to prove it.

I criticize people who aim for a perfect TOEIC score, while expecting everyone to accept my own English ability on nothing more than my word.

Even I have to admit that this is remarkably convenient for me.